Spires of Infinity (4 page)

“Ah,” Kari nodded. “Is that so? Well, you’ve got about five seconds to come

along on your own before I drag the two of you over to the east field by your tails.”

The twins looked at each other, and again seemed to communicate without words

before they turned back to her.

“I’m afraid we’re going to have to respectfully decline.”

“You see, if we were to help you dig a well.”

“We’d no longer be doing.”

“As little as possible.”

They
knew
how much it annoyed her when they finished each other’s sentences!

“Sorry, sister dear,” they said together. “But we’re busy.”

“Oh,” Kari raised an eyebrow. “Busy, are you? And what are you up to?”

They looked at each other again.

“What makes you think we’re up to anything?”

“Because you never talk in unison like that unless you’re up to something!”

“We do,” the twins asked in unison.

Kari’s glare was the only answer they received.

“Ah,” Michael nodded. “Duly noted.”

“So,” Kari prompted with a gesture.

“Ah, right,” Jonathan sighed dramatically with the air of someone quoting badly from a script. “Can’t fool her.”

“Oh no, she’s too smart for that.”

“Right. She always knows when we’re up to something.”

“Observant as always.”

“And might I add pretty.”

“Yes, we mustn’t forget pretty.”

“Did we mention smart?”

“I think we did. But she’s also so very skilled at cooking and sewing.”

“Why yes she is. And freakishly strong too.”

“That’s rather sexist, don’t you think,” Kari broke in, not sure which one of them deserved her glare more.

“It
is
true, isn’t it,” they replied in unison, with identical flat looks.

As much as she wanted to say that they were wrongly stereotyping her, she

realized that she couldn’t. She did, indeed, know how to cook and sew, amongst many other skills including several types of combat. She was even a master at Hemomancy, manipulating the demonic energies in her blood that had twisted and remade her human flesh into that of a Heretic while still in her mother’s womb.

She prided herself on being a capable woman in all aspects of her life, and her brothers made her sound like some feeble housewife with no greater skills or ambitions than raising children and taking care of a husband. How
dare
they! She was beginning to have fond thoughts of throwing them back up into the tree just so she could kick them out of it again. There was nothing wrong with being a housewife, but it seemed such a waste when she knew that she could be so much more.

Their mother was the perfect role model. She was a wife, a mother, a musician, and an extremely skilled warrior that had fought in many a battle. She’d shown Kari by example that women could be so much more than what her idiot brothers seemed to think she was good for.

“You know, I was thinking, brother dear,” Michael said.

“Yes, so was I,” Jonathan agreed.

“Hey sis,” they said as one, “we’re gonna leave home. Wanna come?”

“Leave,” Kari asked, so shocked that she forgot her anger. “You want to leave?

But where would you go? What would you do?”

“But that’s exactly it,” Michael said with an expansive gesture to the sky.

“There’s a billion worlds out there.”

“A billion different adventures waiting to happen,” Jonathan nodded.

“A billion sights to see.”

“A billion people to meet.”

“A billion stories to live.”

“A billion poor girls to be liberated from their oppressive virginity.” Jonathan eyed Kari. “Er, I suppose there’s boys held captive by that cursed virginity as well, unless you prefer girls? I know I would if I was a girl.”

“Don’t be daft,” Michael said with an expression of mock horror. “You’re far too ugly to be a girl.”

Kari rolled her eyes. They were
identical
! One was just as ugly as the other.

“You’re serious,” Kari asked, trying to imagine life without them. It would be extremely dull and boring. Since their adopted sister Mera left home, things had gotten rather boring, especially since she was the only girl now. There were some things that were just completely impossible to relate to boys, no matter how hard she tried. They were different creatures entirely, and she had a very hard time making them understand the female perspective on life sometimes.

“We’ve always wanted to travel to other worlds,” Michael said. “We’ve dreamt

of it since we were kids. Not much to do around here that we haven’t already done, you know.”

“So you want me to come with you, because you’re too lazy to have ever learned to cook or sew,” Kari asked.

“Yes ma’am,” they replied. “Did we mention that you’re freakishly strong?”

“And, well, it wouldn’t be the same without you there to boss us around,”

Michael said, sounding as though the words were being pulled out of him through unspeakable torture.

“We hate to admit it, but we kinda need you,” Jonathan sighed. “You’re the smart and responsible one.”

“But don’t let that go to your head,” Michael put in quickly.

Sighing, Kari thought it would be wonderful to leave the place between worlds

where she’d grown up. She would like to meet people she
wasn’t
related to for a change.

And perhaps the man she’d always dreamt about sweeping her off her feet, and carrying her away into rather embarrassing childhood fantasies, would make his entrance into her life at long last.

“How, exactly, do you plan to
leave
this place? We’re outside of time and space.”

The twins looked at each other again.

“Did we mention how smart you are?”

“Oh, that’s just beautiful,” Kari planted her fists on her hips. “You want me to do
all
the work for you, don’t you?”

“Don’t you always,” Michael asked.

Kicking him in the thigh, Kari gave Jonathan a kick as well, for good measure.

The two of them seemed to share the same brain most of the time anyway.

“There’s only one way out of here,” Kari explained.

The twins sighed deeply in unison, seeming to deflate somewhat, their wolf ears drooping forward.

“We were afraid you’d say that.”

“Dad can’t keep us here forever, you know,” Kari said. “He knows we’ll have to go live our own lives someday. If we tell him it’s time we left, who is he to stand in our way?”

“Didn’t I tell you she was smart,” Michael said.

“I believe you did mention something to that effect,” Jonathan nodded.

“So, we just go to mom and dad and tell them we’re leaving for untold

adventure,” Michael asked.

“And who said I’m going with you?”

“You wouldn’t let your poor brothers starve to death would you,” Jonathan asked.

“Couldn’t find my own tail without you,” Michael put in.

The two of them hugged each other, shaking with mock fear and whimpering.

“You’re both pathetic,” Kari could feel a dull ache beginning behind her temples.

They were actually painfully stupid sometimes. “I’ll come on one condition.”

“What’s that,” they asked.

“I’m in charge,” Kari said with a sharp nod of agreement with herself.

Ever since she was young she’d known that her older brothers were completely

hopeless without her. She was the responsible one, always taking care of them. If something horrible happened to them, it would be her fault for not being there to protect them. She’d always taken the responsibility of keeping them out of trouble. She lived for their grudging appreciation for all she did for them. If she didn’t have anyone to watch out for, she didn’t know what she’d do with herself. If she didn’t go with them she’d become unimportant and superfluous.

“Well that’s a given,” Jonathan said.

“It’s not like you didn’t take charge the day you were born or anything,” Michael agreed. “Bossiest infant
ever
!”

“Business as usual,” they replied together.

“And what’s this I hear about leaving,” their father, the Northern Sage, stepped out of the grass as if by magic, causing all three of them to jump. It was creepy the way he seemed able to sneak up on them anywhere.

Looking extremely guilty, the twins scrambled to their feet, one to each side of Kari. Sighing, she eyed them. They were just plain useless! The second their father raised an eyebrow they started cowering. Some men
they
were, leaving their little sister to fight their battles for them. Oh well, she
was
the one that had demanded to be in charge after all.

Never actually believing that the day would come, Kari had often thought about leaving home, and setting foot on another world. She’d always known it would have to come sometime, but she’d never gotten around to it. There was always something to hold her back. She’d wanted to leave with Mera, but she hated to leave responsibilities behind. She couldn’t abandon her useless brothers. Just thinking of all the trouble they’d get into without her was enough to keep her home. She was sure
they
would have been long gone by now if they weren’t so inept at generally everything.

Their father scratched at the stubble on the side of his face making a rasping sound as he regarded them.

“Should I even bother asking what the two of you are up to all the way out here,”

he asked the twins.

“Planning,” Michael said.

“Conspiring,” Jonathan agreed.

“Oh, and what were you conspiring,” the Sage raised an eyebrow.

The twins each put a hand on Kari’s back and pushed her forward.

“Ask her, she’s the boss.”

Kari rounded on them and gave each one a heavy swat for good measure, before

turning back to her father.

“Well, I was coming to get them to help me dig in the east field, and they sort of dragged me into their plans to leave. I couldn’t let them go alone. You know how pathetic they are without me.” Kari felt her face color a bit and she looked down at her feet. “And I’d kind of like to leave too, I guess.”

“Have you chosen a world then,” the Sage asked them.

“That’s the thing,” Michael said.

“The thing, indeed,” Jonathan agreed.

“There’s a billion worlds out there.”

“A billion adventures to be had.”

“A billion people to—”

“Oh, don’t start that again,” Kari interrupted.

“So you want to be able to travel between worlds at will,” the Sage asked.

“Yes sir,” the twins replied in unison, giving him identical snappy salutes.

“Kari,” the Sage asked.

“I suppose.”

The Sage drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I was afraid of that. As your father, I want to give you what you want, but as the Northern Sage, I can’t just give it to you. I have rules to follow.”

Kari nodded, not liking his tone of voice, and where the conversation seemed to be headed.

“Any person is allowed free passage from one world to another through my realm once if I approve of their intentions,” the Sage said. “However, you ask for the ability to travel from world to world and that is a very difficult thing to provide. I have the power to grant any wish, but doing so comes at a price of equal value.”

“And what might that be,” Jonathan asked, not sounding quite so irritatingly

gleeful anymore.

“I will give you these,” the Sage held up three purple crystals on leather cords.

“With these shards of the Gate, you can travel from any world to any other without seeking the Gate itself and passing through here. The price for this ability is threefold.

You can never visit the same world twice. The world you go to will always be random.

And you will never again be able to return home.”

Kari gasped. Never being able to see her parents or home again was a great price indeed. Knowing that her life would be rather meaningless if she stayed home whilst the twins left, she still hesitated. It was a hard decision, but she knew what she had to choose. She couldn’t spend the rest of her days digging wells, milking cows, and a thousand other chores. Now that the idea of traveling from world to world and seeking adventure had been planted in her mind, she really wanted to do it.

Stepping forward, Kari reached for one of the necklaces, hesitating for only a second before snatching one and placing it around her neck. The purple crystal seemed to glow from within when she touched it.

“I’m going,” she said. “But I’ll break that rule. Someday I’ll find my way back here. Just you see.”

Turning to her brothers, who stood grim-faced behind her, Kari raised an

eyebrow. They scampered forward to take their necklaces as well.

“Never forget how much your mother and I love you,” the Sage said. “We hate to see our children leave, but we know you cannot stay here forever. Playing jailer to Cain is my responsibility, not yours. Remember to say goodbye to your mother or I
will
send her after you. Having your mother show up is just the thing to cramp an adventure. Oh, and if you happen to meet a man named Gabriel Reeve, tell him I’m watching him
very
closely.”

Chapter 4: Holston

Walking his horse-cat through traffic down a dusty street in a little town, Gabriel could have named any number of old westerns that might have been filmed there. The one and two story buildings were all made from wood, and the street was hard packed dirt. Wooden sidewalks and posts for tethering horse-cats lined the street to either side.

Most everyone was afoot, though some rode and there were a few wagons trundling by.

As he wandered aimlessly, he noticed two very odd things about the people

around him. The first was that many of the townspeople were armed with various swords, knives and spears, but his were the only guns. The second was that not everyone walking the street was completely human. They had the general form of human beings, but perhaps one in ten people had animal bits mixed into their features. There were men and women with triangular animal ears atop their heads, long lop ears like bunnies, floppy dog-ears, and more. Some had catlike tails, bobtails, or more bushy tails. He even saw one man with wings folded across his back and feathers rather than hair. The biting cold did not seem to touch those with animal bits, as they wore little to no protection from it. Some of the girls even wore ridiculously skimpy outfits. Finding it hard not to stare, he seemed to have wandered into anime cosplay hell.